Leaving for Canada

All is well in the MTC! It has been an incredible experience and I have grown so much in the gospel... It's unbelievable! So much has happened in the MTC this week that it feels like a blur. Each day drags on but the week goes by so fast! It's crazy! I can't believe that I will be leaving for Canada and start my journey tomorrow! I am so excited!

This past week has been an experience of teaching. I have had the opportunity to teach two different investigators this week. The first one I will be talking about is Jessica. Monday night was our first night to teach her and the lesson we felt prompted to teach was about the Restoration of the Gospel. Sister Sudweeks and I were so excited to teach someone new! We prayed before we went inside and then knocked at the door... No answer. We then knocked again... No answer. We then peeked inside and no one was there! We then saw a lap top over on a table in the corner of the room and then realized that we would be teaching Jessica through Skype. I can say this right now... It is SO hard through Skype. Jessica is in her mid 20's and was recently married to an inactive member. She lives in Idaho and is just curious about a lot of different religions and wanted to see what the LDS church was about. Unfortunately she was sick and was coughing half of the time and just laying on her couch. It was hard to get Jessica involved to read scriptures because she wasn't in front of us and we couldn't tell if she was taking in the lesson or was even interested in what we were teaching her. It was the first lesson and we prayed it would go better throughout the week. 

The next (progressing) investigator is Tyler. Tyler is in his 20's and has parents with a strong Christian background but he doesn't know if there is a God. He has LDS friends but has been struggling with drug addiction for quite sometime and has been in and out of rehab 3-4 times. After teaching Tyler the first time, I felt the Saviors love for Tyler. It's incredible how much you can love an individual after talking to them for only 15 minutes! The lesson went great! He didn't know much about Joseph Smith and was interested. I can see that he wants to change. Monday was our second time teaching with Tyler about the first part of The Plan of Salvation. The lesson went amazing! When I began teaching him about the atonement I felt prompted to ask him a question, "Tyler... When was there a time you felt alone in your life?" He then began telling us about the struggles of addiction and how he felt alone. I then replied, "Well, I know someone else who has felt alone like you Tyler... It's our Savior, Jesus Christ when he went through the Atonement." He looked down for a good minute to take it all in... The spirit was so strong. We invited him to pray and ask Heavenly Father of his love for him and he accepted! 

The last lessons with our investigators were great! Jessica prayed out loud to us after we sang I Know That My Redeemer Lives! She asked us all about temples and families! She then was able to read the Book of Mormon intro and has been doing great ever since. Tyler's faith in Jesus Christ increased immensely! He has such a strong desire to change and understands the Plan of Salvation and knows that Heavenly Father loves him dearly. We invited him to baptism, he said he wants to, but needs a little bit more time to understand and feel ready. AH! It was such a neat experience teaching them. I was sad that our teaching had to end with them but knowing I will be teaching the people in Canada soon, is a great feeling! 

Tuesday night we were able to listen to Neil L. Anderson at a devotional. He talked about Things That Are Not Seen and shared 2 COR 4:18. One thing that really stuck out to me was that "We can overcome our fears with our faith" and "Get to work! There are souls to find!" I was able to sing in the choir for that devotional and everyone said they saw my face fill up the screen while I sang! Well... I guess I'm famous in the 4 or 5 international MTC's that it was broadcast to! It was hilarious. We sang Be Still My Soul and... It honestly gave me goosebumps. Music is really an incredible way of feeling the spirit and I can testify that I have felt it and seen it for myself since being here in the MTC. 

Lastly, we had In-Field Orientation on Wednesday! It was 8-9 hours long! It was good to learn about how to make goals and being realistic with them but how to be the best missionaries we can be. It was exhausting but well worth it! 

One of the many things I have learned at the MTC is that we cannot force the spirit but we can enforce it! If we don't have the spirit when we teach, we haven't done our job. We teach the people... Not the lesson. I am so grateful for this chance to be a missionary and to represent Jesus Christ. I am changed from this whole experience and I am the happiest sister missionary! I know that this gospel is true and cannot deny it. I have witnessed miracles and experienced the spirit teaching through me. It's incredible how close we can be to the Lord and how much I rely and pray to him hundreds of times a day (well almost).  I cannot wait to serve the people in Canada. I know that there are people waiting for the gospel in their lives and they just need someone to lift them up and help them come closer to Christ. 

Thank you to everyone for your love, thoughts, letters and prayers.  Until Next time...  

Sister Robb :)